Foot of the Bed

This is a lullaby for all parents who love their children.
It was, originally, an instrumental (no surprise, there). Special thanks to Fred S. for encouraging me to write the lyrics.
And thank YOU, Jim B. for the recording and hanging out with me. Cheers, compadre.
First time I’ve sung in decades. Not to be the last. Please be kind.

THAT is a very sweet song...
My son and I still read together at bedtime, but I have been put firmly in my place this year... I read MY book, he reads HIS book, though we do it together... From time to time, though, I get invited, as a special treat to ME, to read out loud again...

I love your guitar playing on this. The chord progression sounds nice, and the recording is clear. Your voice is very present in the headphone mix, in a nice way... I can't wait to hear more singing from you...

Ohhh
This brought me to tears. I am still reading to my little ones at bedtime (even though they are not that small anymore; 8-10). Have been reading for so many years now (have older kids too) that sometimes at nights when I am tired, I ask them to be excused from the story reading. But your song, as well as Ed's comment, remind me that this will have an end. Never thought of it that way and I am reminded that I'd better take care of these moments while they last.

And about your song; great, lovely compostion and beutiful guitar arrangement and sensitive performance and everything Ed said. This song really stands out. A true favourite.

My friends told me...
...that I'd better enjoy it because it's gone so quickly.
Well; enjoy it I did (and still do). To the fullest. Still went by like a flash. Good times seem to be that way. We don't resist them.
Thanks, Cori.

Ahhhhh!
I've reached the point where I'm looking forward to starting the story reading again with my granddaughter. I used to read (and make up) stories, sing and play the tin whistle for my daiughter Mardi when she was little - I'm really looking forward to Aja starting the whole thing again (although this time around I think I'll avoid the whistle). Lovely intimate vocals over beautifully picked guitar - ah, the memories keep flooding back.
Thanks Ed for the heads up, thanks Bob for the song.
Neil

I can relate:
We started with a read story and a made up story. Sometimes followed by me playing guitar.
Then, when she could read, a made up story and the guitar.
Then to the foot of the bed. Still wants the made up story (amazing...I'm a good BS artist, I guess) and, sometimes, the guitar.
...and so it goes...
How about forming a new organization:
P.A.A. (Parents Against Aging)
Thanks for the visit jiguma.
BTW: I'm playing at an Aussie bar/restaurant. Great food. Cool place.

Thanks, Tobin...
...I got Ava to put down that short track (at the end) on the same night she did the singing on "Butterflies and Dragonflies". Knew I'd want it for later. She was funny. Wanted another manga book as payment for the "extra..."
Smart kid.

Great story telling
Very sweet lyrics and sentiment, beautiful guitar playing and melody, and nicely sung too! Yes, the bittersweet job of teaching your children to become self-sufficient, so they can push you away and stand on their own... well-told here. Funny, as my children slowly grow and push me away, we still have story time sometimes with my 14 year old daughter AND my wife who both always loves to hear me read stories, whether it be Winnie the Pooh or Terry Pratchett. So here's wishing your daughter grows up and finds somebody to share her own stories with, as it should be... and we poor ex-parents must find something else to do at that point... like... travel and make music! :-) Great song, Bob, thank you!
ttfn,
Drakonis

I'm very happy you like this piece. And that you'd shared your own life experience. I learned to speak in all the voices of the world of Christopher Robin. Ava was sooooo into it, and so was I. (ttfn!) What an absolutely wonderful world...

Just visited your place and checked out "Musimorphisis". Fine, fine tune. Will be going back for more.

Wonderfully written
I have two girls, 5 years apart. The older one has long ago stopped letting me read to her but not before she let me read Moby Dick to her and that was a special year(year and a half...I can't remember). Your song got me, I cannot deny. You play technically precise and emotionally warm. And, you write. Quite a package. So, tell some more stories, Dad!

Hey Joe (sounds like Hendrix)...
...Moby Dick, huh? That was an excellent idea! Nice and long.
It's wonderful being a dad. I've written many, many tunes about it. Most of them, though, are instrumentals. Didn't start writing any kind of lyrics 'till just this last August.
BUT...fear not! I have written another tune (with lyrics) about my little lovely and her friend which will, eventually, be heard here. And there will be more. Wondering what they'll be like when she's a teenager?
Hmmmm....
Much thanks for the nice note, Joe. How's the snow up there, anyway?

wwwaaaaaahhhhhhh
dad gummit, bob. that was special.
oh yeah, tear duct action from THIS listener.
what a beautiful telling of the tale - your intimate vocal was mic'd so perfectly - guitar went interesting places in its quietly solid backing.
it's a keeper. (and i can tell she is, too.) your fan, anne

Not surprising
to me that to hear your excellent delivery of fine guitar playing matches the description and the story behind this song... My kids have had their favorites, stories they wanted me to repeat to them countless times....

I've been singing or playing...
...for Ava since the first day we brought her home. She sings/makes up tunes and harmonies all the time, now.

Most of what I write is instrumental. Much of it was inspired by her. Got a couple more tunes with lyrics about Ava. Working on another one right now. Poetry is a field that I'm just revisiting now, after many years away.

Pick me up off the floor - it seems
I'm a puddle and I can't get up. What a beautiful song. I have a daughter who used to insist that after te kight was out that I lie there and tell her a story every night. A different story. Every night. Inevitably I'd fall asleep mid sentence while uttering some surrealsitic absurdity and she'd elbow me to bring me back. Now she's 16 and playing in clubs. What happened?
Your playinng is exquisite and your singing is wonderful. I have to play this for my wife - and daughter. Thanks for posting.

I've estimated that...
...I've made up, approximately, 2,100 stories for Ava since I started telling them, some 6+ years ago.
And, yeah...I've been elbowed awake a few times, myself.
I get a kick over when she "chimes in" with her own ideas:
"No, daddy...how about if the dragon..."
Thanks for the visit, Bud.

Im a fan!
First thing I thought of was Leonard Cohen. Very good - great vocals and guitar picking. Lovely ascending melodies in the guitar picking. Great stuff. I think the melody is also very sensitive with the subject matter - i.e. you captured the childhood innocence. Very heartwarming. Excellent. Nice add on ad the end too!

NICE ------
OKay - I was touched by this one. I couldn't help but listen again and think about my children. Excellent song Bob. Makes me want to read my 20 month old a bed time story......... Thanks man.

You know I'm a fan of yours...
...so your compliment means a lot to me, Steve.

I think some situations/tunes lend themselves to simplicity better than others. Especially the sad/sentimental ones. I'm writing lyrics to a song, now, where I just don't seem to be able to keep my big mouth shut. I'm whittling it down...but it's nowhere near like this one.

That said, though...I DO like to try to simplify.

As far as simplifying your own work:

"...has an ocean of meaning..."

Now: who was it that said that? Hmmm....?

And, if you felt the need to mimimize it more (don't need to...you got it right the first time); just get rid of "...has an..." and you've got the essential of the phrase.

the purity of simplicity
A gem Bob... a real MJ jewel.... your playing is exquisite... i love the descending progression how on the second pass you introduce a dissonance... as time passes it brings these tensions... we want to raise our children well, yet if we do they don't need us... if you never sang a word, your guitar work here has completely captured the mixture of joy and melancholy, and told the story so well... but the lyric seals the deal....

Can't get your tune out of my head, Scott...
You guys are just too on the ball! ;-)

"Foot of the Bed" was an instrumental for about a year until I wrote the lyrics, just this last August. I'm playing a gig tonight. Will play the instrumental version then (as I've done before) and be just fine.

Close to getting the singing and playing together for performance...but not to the point where I'm comfortable with it, yet. It's new to me.

Waaah!
I've been avoiding listening to this since I read the lyrics and knew it would probably make me cry (okay, I cried just reading the lyrics)so I marked it as a favorite, so that I could come back and have a listen when I was feeling particularly happy. I just came back from a walk, it's sunny, so I thought it was a good time.

Of course, I didn't think about the fact that the walk was because I'd just walked my six-year old daughter to school and watched her proudly march the last 25 yards to the classroom by herself with her little pink backpack wobbling as she walked and me with my heart in my throat. She has also just started reading to herself, but thankfully her dad and I are still allowed at bedtime.

I don't know what I was thinking. I should have waited until she was 40 to listen to this.

The music is just lovely, just amazingly so and, I have to say, your phrasing reminds me so much of Ava's. You have a nice voice and I think, as you become more confident, you may find yourself more comfortable with cutting back on the reverb. Many of us have had to join Reverbers Anonymous. This song is very close and immediate and I think it would be nice to have the vocal drier.

Wowie, this is as heart-wrenching as Puff the Magic Dragon. I'm so glad you joined Macjams.

Yeah...
...I can remember watching that little backpack wobbling off into the distance. Ava's was green. Doesn't matter how nice a day it is, does it?
I'm very touched that you like the song. AND I really like to talk shop, ledeb. Interesting that you mentioned the vocal reverb (how HEARTLESS!!!) *sob, sob*.
I used to do the same thing with reverb and echo on my electric guitar 'till I felt confident enough...well...you know.
My friend who recorded the piece said the same thing: "You don't need the reverb on your voice...but if you MUST..."
I can always go back and remove it. A bottle of wine (shared) and it's done.
Also cool that you noticed Ava's phrasing. She hasn't had much of a choice as far as absorbing some of what I do. She's got such a nice voice. Ed says it's like a young version of yours. I agree.
You know: in "Butterflies and Dragonflies", I asked her to sing a totally different melody for the chorus. After a couple of bars, it went like this:
"No, daddy. It doesn't work. Let me follow the guitar line, instead".
And then...well, damn if she didn't just do it on the spot. And that's what it is, now.
Kids, nowadays...I'll tell ya...
I'm waiting for your next piece. Got you on my favorites list. Have to peruse your archives a bit more. "Mechanical Schoolmarm" had me on the floor.
Thanks for the warm welcome...means a great deal to me. This is such a nice place.

Aren't you lovely?
This isn't false modesty in the slightest, but Ava is a better natural singer than me and will have a stronger voice than me as she gets older. I was truly blown away by her phrasing on Butterflies and Dragonflies. How old is she, btw?

Keep your eyes peeled for my next song, it's with Jim Bouchard and will probably turn up in the next day or so. Hooray! :-)

I'm listening to "Neverland"...
...as I type this.
I won't make comparisons...I just really like your voice and how you use it. So fine...
Ava turned 10 in November. Her phrasing completely blows me away, too. And her voice has gotten stronger since we recorded. She's got talent coming out of her ears in everything. Serious actor and writer, too. Not just a proud papa. Everyone sees it. She's a great, friendly kid. Saw me perform my first set at a bar/restaurant last night. Said: "You sound very polished".
"Polished"...? Sigh...
Just got to keep her head on straight and she'll be fine. That's not too much to ask...is it? I'll try to set a good example... ;-)
Looking forward to your piece with Jim. I really like his music, too...
Thanks for the visit and taking the time to say "hello"...

I've got 3 little ones, and by night I'm working on a Master's degree, so for the last several months I've been letting my wife do the stories. Your song brought tears to my eyes and has caused me to resolve to get up there and enjoy those precious moments while I'm still able. I thank you.

Arranging idea: whenever I have a tune which starts out as an instrumental with a defined and (hopefully!) strong melody, then I decide to write words for it, it usually forces me to adapt the guitar part a little. Specifically, it usually sounds better for me to not just sing the exact same notes the guitar is playing. This can be accomplished in at least two ways: sometimes I deliberately try to create another melody and see if the two melodies together create some nice counterpoint. But if I really like the original melody, then the other solution is to simply drop the melody from my guitar part while I'm singing the verses- play a harmony, or even just the chord progression so the guitar doesn't walk over over my vocals. This way, when I do play the full original melody version of the guitar part between verses or as an instrumental break, it sounds more dramatic.

I just wrote that as a concept to consider in the future, because, as I understand it, constructive advive is one reason why people post their songs here. But let me be clear that I am NOT suggesting that you change this song, at all. This song, as you arranged played, and sang it, is beautiful, and works great, probably at least partially because of the beautiful little harmonic substituions and variations you put in as the song progresses.

When a song can be beautiful enough to make me want to hear it again and again, and the lyrics can be beautiful enough to inspire me to want to be a better person, I'd say that is a helluva good song, there!

I just found out about and joined this site this morning, but I will be looking for more of your work the next time I log on.

RE: Gibson?
Nah, I wish! Just a pretty cool looking Kay or Harmony or something similar a friend of mine found in his Grandma's attic. The sticker's identifying it are long gone, the back's cracked in half, the pickguard's gone, the plywood top's separating from the sides, the tin tuners are seized, and the action's approximately half an inch at the 12 fret. Looks pretty good in a pic, though, eh?

I just added a little bio this morning listing two James Goodall acoustics and a funky danelecrto with a Bigsby as my main guitars. Also, my first song just got posted, if you want to check it out in the children's music section.

Bowman
Was handed a viola in 5th grade never mastered it but I do love strings and use them - maybe too much - in many of my compositions. Bowman was also the name of a character who transformed into the star child in an old favorite - 2001.
Guitapick? Now I don't need to ask you about that...
Best,
-Bowman

Well I'm choked too...
'cause i can't play guitar like you. You play beautifully and the warmth in your voice is perfect for this song.
I only just caught up with you since your message but when I said I play guitar, it's just a means of accompaniment, unlike you, who play solo guitar so movingly, M

bittersweet
This song is great, although a tough pill to swallow. My three year old still demands a bedtime story (or 2 or 10) but I'm painfully aware that one day I'll be dramatically uncool to her and she'll want nothing to do with me (for at least a little while during those teenage years). This was a nice little reminder that I should take every advantage to read to her while she will still let me.

I had a friend in college. Physic major. Bonafide genius. Explained to me, one highly altered state night, about how, physically, our lives actually DO get shorter as we age. Not just "seems that way".

And time does fly when you're having fun. Taking it all in and not pushing anything away from you. So...time's really been moving along since my girl was born...

She still asks for stories. Not as often...but still likes them. That'll become a memory soon enough...just not yet...to be replaced by something else nice, I hope...do my best to help make that happen, at least.

Very nice
I like this track - very sweet and the guitar sounds really nice. Your vocal quality adds to the sweetness. I really like the story of this song - like a story within a story. And the end is really touching.

foot of the bed
This is a lovely song and you sang and played it great too.

I recall my kids always asked for a story and I always read them one too. I was never ever read a story as a child not that my Mum was mean
Just that there was lots of us and mum was kept busy. I bet it was the same story ove and over again Mine liked Mr Twiddle and I still have that story book and there others also , this was from when they were about 6 and 7 even younger they are now 27 and 25. You brought some great happy memories back for me.Thanks.

Thanks for visiting my little electronic home. I love to play and listen to music and really enjoy talking shop.
A brief bio:
I was brought up in the New York City area, traveled around a lot after high school, and am now back.
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